A mission idea

[tkzv]

In not-so-recent news I saw this: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/kzakkn/nasa-destroyed-hundreds-of-mystery-tapes-found-in-a-dead-mans-basement-apollo-era A former NASA and IBM employee died in 2015. His heirs found fridge-sized 1960s computers and around 325 data tapes in his basement. A NASA expert studied the tapes, identified data from Pioneer-8,9,10,11, Helios-1 and Intelsat-4, failed to identify 215 more tapes, but suggested to burn everything, calling them hazardous to health because of mould.

Of course, this raises a question: what really was there that needs to be erased? It could be:
- signals from some alien installation in Solar system,
- more complete datasets from Pioneer-10 and 11.

The former could give coordinates of Cydonia or an intermediate base on the back side of the Moon or some other alien orbital station. The latter could give the answer to Pioneer anomaly — the 1998 theory is that Pioneers accelerate a bit faster because of uneven heat emission, but it may be gravity from a dwarf planet aliens want to hide or an undiscovered law of physics at work. Maybe this information could help understand gravity engines and make your own — but anything without elerium would be too bulky and inefficient.

Or it could be a red herring — nothing the player doesn't already know at this point.

The mission itself would be seizing the tapes while fighting Men in Black (or Red Dawn?) in an urban area.

[mumble]

Could also be nasa hiding extremely huge lies : Nasa, never a straight answer.

For the mission, I could see perhaps a mission with later level MIB troops with tapes which give some late research for free, essentially catapulting the player forward tech wise.

Could be something like "strange coordinates" with a background of a random email from a stranger about something "big", requesting you to "bring firepower" : a huge risk reward assessment for a player in promotion 2 / early 3 to take on, when MIB is still growing.

[tkzv]

Could also be nasa hiding extremely huge lies : Nasa, never a straight answer.

What kind of lies?

For the mission, I could see perhaps a mission with later level MIB troops with tapes which give some late research for free, essentially catapulting the player forward tech wise.

a huge risk reward assessment for a player in promotion 2 / early 3 to take on, when MIB is still growing.

I thought of the opposite. Early mission with two agents on a car and too many cartridges/reels/whatever to carry at once — they can grab a couple and run, but leaving this treasure trove seems wasteful, and they end up trying to neutralize every Man in Black within view.

Could be something like "strange coordinates" with a background of a random email from a stranger about something "big", requesting you to "bring firepower"

Yes, something like that. Strange activity of plainclothed people in a sleepy suburb and a tip telling where is the thing they're after. May be a better way to introduce Men in Black than crop circles mission.

And only studying those tapes/papers/magnetic drums reveals their connection with NASA.

And next mission could be fighting Men in Black over a landfill where some mysteries were buried.

[mumble]

Well, too early on, any fighting with mib would be extremely bad, you need at least a van and Kevlar, preferably promotion 1 to get to the point of standing a chance against several mib, even with just blackops pistols. There's also an issue of what exactly you get out of it.

As for nasa lies that might exist, I'd rather not go off topic too much with conspiracies and big questions : figure it could roll down hill into a ban pretty fast.

[tkzv]

I'd rather not go off topic too much with conspiracies and big questions : figure it could roll down hill into a ban pretty fast.

What I like about this mod, is that it takes crackpot theories and states they all are true. With a straight face Like the original UFO, only more so. When I started this thread, I hoped to discuss wild conspiracy theories. With people who don't really believe in them.

[SteamXCOM]

The Illuminati were in physic communication with the Greys who crashed landed in 1908 Siberia awaking the long slumbering Yeti who found the Spear of Destiny hidden by Hitler in Antarctica; then traded it to the Monks of Shamballa who were captured by black helicopters then interred in secret FEMA internment camps but escaped by hiding in the tunnels under Walmart where molemen are extracting the Codex Alimentarius from NASA's missing tapes and posting it on the Internet.

------------------
EDIT
Walmart store Closure Conspiracy Theories
http://www.snopes.com/politics/conspiracy/walmartclosures.asp

Walmart, Pentagon try to knock down conspiracy theory
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/walmart-pentagon-try-knock-down-conspiracy-theory

[Solarius Scorch]

Thanks for opening this thread, I'll certainly keep an eye on it and fish for ideas. Keep them coming!

Also if I may suggest, please keep them as simple as possible. This isn't an RPG, it's a tactical game - not much text content is possible, or indeed necessary.

[tkzv]

Thanks for opening this thread, I'll certainly keep an eye on it and fish for ideas. Keep them coming!

Also if I may suggest, please keep them as simple as possible. This isn't an RPG, it's a tactical game - not much text content is possible, or indeed necessary.

It's a game where all the text is mission briefings and Ufopaedia articles I keep that in mind.

Mission name: House search
Mission description: We've got a tip that some inconspicuous plainclothed people are searching for something in this suburb. Stop them and capture whatever they are after. Avoid hurting civilians caught in the crossfire.

Loot:

Old mainframe
An old transistor computer manufactured in 1965, that went through multiple repairs and upgrades. Apparently it once belonged to NASA, which sold it as obsolete around 1980. A retiring employee bought it together with a collection of old tapes.
The machine is of no use to us, but old computer enthusiasts will gladly buy it.
Price: something like $3000-$5000.
Size for storage: something huge, like Avalanche missile.

Data cartridge
A cartridge that was used to store computer data back in 1970s. The inscriptions on it are "Property of NASA" and a serial number.
Most likely it contains telemetry data. For some reason Men in Black were willing to kill to ensure this information stays buried.

Mouldy data cartridge
A cartridge that was used to store computer data back in 1970s. The inscriptions on it are "Property of NASA" and a serial number.
Most likely it contains telemetry data. For some reason Men in Black were willing to kill to ensure this information stays buried.

The cartridge has been damaged from being stored in suboptimal conditions. Reading data off it will require a lot of effort and success is not guaranteed. All the accumulated mould makes it a health hazard.

Reading intact cartridges may require some token effort from the workshop, like $50 and 8 man-hours per cartridge. Reading a damaged cartridge should be an order of magnitude harder, like $1000 and 160 man-hours. This will create "Processed data cartridge", with a 3.5" floppy disk added to the picture.


The discussion inspired two more mission ideas. This time in the wilderness, but with an excavator (if there are sprites for that), bulldozer or tractor:

Mission name: MiB landfill raid
Mission description: We've got a tip that Men in Black are searching for something in an old landfill, presumably to destroy it for good. Capture whatever they are after.

Mission name: Osiron landfill raid
Mission description: We've got a tip that Osiron are searching for something in an old landfill, presumably some storage media with valuable information. Capture whatever they are after.

The loot in both cases would be mouldy cartridges. As well as old bags, old shoes, animal bones and such

Update:

Researching a processed data cartridge may give several subjects. I can think of 3: "Anomalous acceleration", "Black asteroid" and "What astronauts talk about".

What astronauts talk about
Have you ever wondered what astronauts talk about with Mission Control? What kind of mysteries they may discuss? What jokes they tell? I was very enthusiastic when I saw a log of such conversations on one of the cartridges.
Actually, it all proved extremely boring. I almost broke my jaws yawning. Maybe the juicy parts did not make it to the log.

This is just a joke item, that doesn't lead anywhere.

Anomalous acceleration.
It's well known that several space probes accelerate a bit faster than they should. Numerous theories have been proposed, but remain unproven. The telemetry data we've uncovered does not fit the recently accepted theory of anisotropic heating. As far as we can tell, radioisotope generators give those ships some extra push.
This effect may allow us to create a new propulsion principle.

This unlocks "Gravitic propulsion":

Gravitic propulsion
By studying anomalous acceleration of RITEG-equipped space craft we have discovered that electromagnetic emission at certain resonance frequencies can shake gravity waves out of atomic nuclei. The effect is more pronounced for heavy elements and unstable isotopes, but unfortunately, it is too weak to be practical for any element we tested -- the device won't lift its own weight. Trans-actinide elements seem promising, in theory, if only we could get some.

This will also explain how hyperwave decoder works without elerium. It can be a requirement for the decoder, for UFO propulsion or for both. Or it can be another dead end.

Black asteroid
Trajectories of several interplanetary probes seem to have been distorted by a heavy body orbiting between Earth and Mars orbits. Optical telescopes do not detect it, presumably because it isn't reflective enough.
The bigger question is: why did NASA have to hide this discovery?

What could be the implications? I haven't decided.

[Solarius Scorch]

Thanks!

I can make more missions, but we also need to think where it leads to. You recover this tape, or computer, examine it, and then what? Does it give you some article, or unlocks something, or does it do something else? Or maybe it should just be unspecified data which gives you points? That last option would be easiest, but feels kind of dull - after such a climatic entrance it should be something more satisfying.

Perhaps we could have a new category of dossiers, something like here or the first entry here. But it'd require many new articles and someone would have to write them.

[tkzv]

I can make more missions, but we also need to think where it leads to. You recover this tape, or computer, examine it, and then what? Does it give you some article, or unlocks something, or does it do something else?

I've written my suggestions above after the word "Update"

"Anomalous acceleration" followed by "Gravitic propulsion" can be either an extra requirement to get UFO propulsion and hyperwave decoder, or an alternative route to get them earlier.

"Old mainframe", "Data cartridge" and "Mouldy data cartridge" give points and explain what's up.

"What astronauts talk about" is for points and quick laugh. Not funny enough, I'm afraid.

"Black asteroid" can uncover an alien staging area. Which would explain how UFOs react to player's actions quicker than distance to Mars would imply. The asteroid should be Earth's quasi-satellite then. The player may want to deal with it before Cydonia. Or it may prove a dead end — just an empty landing pad.

Or maybe it should just be unspecified data which gives you points? That last option would be easiest, but feels kind of dull - after such a climatic entrance it should be something more satisfying.

Perhaps we could have a new category of dossiers, something like here or the first entry here. But it'd require many new articles and someone would have to write them.

I fully agree that research just for points is boring. That also applies to dossiers, unless you want to do something interesting with them. Will you turn each of them into a mission like "Meridian hunt"? I'll write several anyway.

What are your plans about Underdark, zombie caves and Reptoids? Some tapes can contain the data from orbital radar scanning that reveals caves of potential interest.

A spy satellite passing a certain area has been downed by Aquatoids, who thought it was spying on them. Their abandoned installation is still of interest. Or maybe it isn't abandoned.

Update: keep forgetting to add this one. The most obvious. Collision of an unmanned probe with an UFO. The recovered debris are stored somewhere. Now that X-COM knows the details, it can ask the right questions and get a random alien artefact. Either research data or the artefact itself.

[Solarius Scorch]

I've written my suggestions above after the word "Update"

Ah, right. It makes things clear.

"Anomalous acceleration" followed by "Gravitic propulsion" can be either an extra requirement to get UFO propulsion and hyperwave decoder, or an alternative route to get them earlier.

I'm a bit anxious to do it either way, since extra requirement would mean a significant RNG element to the game, and alternative route vould be hard to fit... But we'll see.

"Old mainframe", "Data cartridge" and "Mouldy data cartridge" give points and explain what's up.

Yeah, more articles are good. I like the space element, we need more space stuff.

"What astronauts talk about" is for points and quick laugh. Not funny enough, I'm afraid.

Worry not, it's better than half of my stuff.

"Black asteroid" can uncover an alien staging area. Which would explain how UFOs react to player's actions quicker than distance to Mars would imply. The asteroid should be Earth's auasi-sattelite then.

Yes, we can just let it grow organically.

I fully agree that research just for points is boring. That also applies to dossiers, unless you want to do something interesting with them. Will you turn each of them into a mission like "Meridian hunt"? I'll write several anyway.

Oh hell no, dossiers (or 99% of them) are just fluff. My point was that fluff should be interesting, not just useful.

What are your plans about Underdark, zombie caves and Reptoids? Some tapes can contain the data from orbital radar scanning that reveals caves of potential interest.

Probably. I'd like to start working on that, but the amount of work needed is staggering - it's like another T'Leth arc, but without all the resources already existing in TFTD.

Anyway, I like where this is going.

[tkzv]

Probably. I'd like to start working on that, but the amount of work needed is staggering - it's like another T'Leth arc, but without all the resources already existing in TFTD.

My suggestions so far try to rely on the existing sprites. Of course, Ufopeadia articles need some graphics, but that's not a priority.
Edit: Ah, you meant Underdark. And I was asking about the possible connections between space research of 1960-70s and the unfinished arcs. Mapping caves could be one.

--- posts merged ---

http://www.snopes.com/politics/conspiracy/walmartclosures.asp

Thanks. I found one theory I liked. Especially the name.

DUMBS
Orbital infrared photos of NATO member states allowed NASA to map a network of mysterious bunkers and tunnels.
Unfortunately, this discovery is of no use to our mission. We know about existence of deep underground military bases (DUMBS for short. Hey, it wasn't me who came up with the name!) and this map is 20 years out of date.

The Illuminati were in physic communication with the Greys who crashed landed in 1908 Siberia awaking the long slumbering Yeti who found the Spear of Destiny hidden by Hitler in Antarctica; then traded it to the Monks of Shamballa who were captured by black helicopters then interred in secret FEMA internment camps but escaped by hiding in the tunnels under Walmart where molemen are extracting the Codex Alimentarius from NASA's missing tapes and posting it on the Internet.

Mind if I copy it with slight corrections? To bring it closer to established canon and avoid anachronisms.

Decrypted text
The cartridge contained a single encrypted file, which we managed to decipher:

The Illuminati were in physic(sic) communication with Sectoids who crashed(sic) landed in 1908 Siberia awaking the long slumbering Shamblers who found the Spear of Destiny hidden by Hitler in Antarctica; then traded it to the Monks of Shamballa who were captured by black helicopters then interred in secret FEMA internment camps but escaped by hiding in the DUMBS where molemen are extracting the Codex Alimentarius from NASA's missing tapes and distributing it through Arpanet.

(I suggest we do not act hastily on that one.)

Or should it be Mongorns instead of Shamblers?

[Solarius Scorch]

Thanks! I'll get to implementing it sooner or later.

[SteamXCOM]

Mind if I copy it with slight corrections? To bring it closer to established canon and avoid anachronisms.

With reasonably placed anachronisms, such theories  become more preposterous
...and believable.

Go right ahead, edit as you wish. You could probably cook up even more additions  with a google search and string even more unrelated conspiracy theories together.  Conspiracy theories appear to  take advantage of inherent contradictions and coincidences found in any situation and depend on an assumption guised as fact to get to the next step.   
 
Those vapor trails caused by aircraft? Chemtrails!  They can put any additive they want in jet fuel and no one would be the wiser. It is  the spraying of the atmosphere with chemicals by  corporate and governmental interests no doubt pressured by outer-worldly powers  to make this planet more habitable for the eventual alien presence on earth ... MuhHAha.

[tkzv]

Those vapor trails caused by aircraft? Chemtrails!  They can put any additive they want in jet fuel and no one would be the wiser. It is  the spraying of the atmosphere with chemicals by  corporate and governmental interests no doubt pressured by outer-worldly powers  to make this planet more habitable for the eventual alien presence on earth ... MuhHAha.

Actually, chemtrails are already part of Hybrids' arc They add chemicals to airplane fuel to make people more "numb and docile".